The Venezuela We Are With You Coalition (CVEC), based in Toronto, is a coalition oforganizations and individuals with various points of view and approaches, united in support of the Bolivarian Revolution.

By Ewan Robertson
November 16, 2012 -- Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has condemned Israel’s latest assault on the Gaza Strip as “savage”, and called for an end to “aggression” against the Palestinian people. “Another aggression against the Gaza Strip has begun. Savage, savage: the state of Israel bombing the Gaza Strip again”, said Chavez to ministers yesterday in reference to Israel’s ”Pillar of Cloud” airstrike campaign against the Palestinian territory.

Israel began its offensive on November 14 by killing the military chief of the Palestinian organisation Hamas. Agencies report that 28 Palestinians and three Israelis have died in the conflict so far, with a further 250 Palestinians wounded.

The Venezuelan president argued that Israel's operation is occurring “because the [Palestinian] president Mahmoud Abbas has insisted that he’s going to request, once again, the entrance of Palestine as a full member state of the United Nations”.

Mahmoud Abbas submitted a renewed request for Palestine’s full UN membership in September. Chavez referred to the proposal as a “realistic vision … however the response [from Israel] is this”. “Because of that, we ask for a world of peace…[where] aggression against Syria, Palestine and the peoples of the world stops”, he continued.

At the beginning of this week, Venezuela's vice-president Nicolas Maduro confirmed that Venezuela would vote in favour of Palestine’s full membership in the UN General Assembly. “We accompany the Palestinian people in all their struggles. In this scenario of the UN our voice and our vote will be there”, Maduro said.

The vice-president also emphasised Venezuela’s support of “the long march of the Palestinian people towards full recognition of having a state, as an independent nation, the right to peace, and their ancestral territories”.

The Chavez administration has been a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause in its conflict with Israel. In 2009 Venezuela broke relations with Israel in response to its Cast Lead assault on the Gaza Strip, accusing Israel of “state terrorism” which had “cost the lives of the vulnerable and innocent: children, women, and the elderly”.

In 2011, Venezuela supported Palestine’s attempt to be recognised as an independent state by the UN, with pro-Palestine demonstrations held around the country. Chavez also wrote a personal letter to the UN General Secretary advocating Palestinian statehood and criticising the “barbarism” of Israeli policy toward the Palestinian people.www.venezuelanalysis.com

Who We Are

The Venezuela We Are With You Coalition (CVEC) unites organizations and individuals in the Toronto area who oppose intervention by the United States, Canada, or other foreign powers into the affairs of the Venezuelan people.

The Coalition supports Venezuela’s right to self-determination and the democratic and social achievements of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

The Coalition works to press the Canadian government to adopt a constructive attitude toward the revolutionary process in Venezuela, opposes threats and slanders against Venezuela, and works to enable the Canadian people to learn the truth about Venezuela’s struggles and achievements.

Contact Us!

We maintain an email list that forwards information on all Venezuela-related activity in the Toronto area, along with relevant background information. We send out 2-4 messages a month. We keep email addresses confidential and do not share them. To join the list: email cvec-tor[at]yahoogroups.com